Chapter 323: Building a Camp

"All hands—"

"Prepare to make camp!"

Once all the ships were securely docked at the shore, the multitude of mercenaries, sailors, and slaves involved in this expedition stood on the muddy, damp land.

Then, the commander of the expedition from the flagship, the chief steward of the Valantis Tiger Party, disembarked from the ship. His name was Veld Megaya, the nephew of the ruling Magister of Marajo.

Veld was highly regarded and trusted by his uncle. He had led the Tiger Robe Army of Valantis to numerous victories, which earned him this important position.

Now in his forties, Veld wore full military attire, his bright armor and hanging sword made him look quite imposing as he stood on the ship's bow. His dark eyes scanned all the people on the beach. He didn't disembark until everyone was off the ship and the beach was confirmed safe.

He then looked up at the sky and gave the order to make camp on the spot.

"Let's rest here for the night."

...

After all the commotion, it was now evening.

The setting sun.

The red glow of the sunset pierced the thin mist and bathed the land.

"Over here—"

"Hurry up."

"Bring two more logs."

Everyone began to busy themselves with setting up their tents, preparing to cook, and cutting down some trees from the surrounding forest to make a simple wall around the camp for protection.

The expedition team didn't plan to explore the ruins of Valyria under the cover of night. Marching at night has always been a taboo in this era, let alone exploring the dangerous ruins of Valyria.

Therefore, it was understandable that Veld was being extremely cautious. After all, he was an experienced commander.

Viserys was also mixed in with the crowd. He was holding an axe and was assigned to work with the others to cut down a few trees in a small forest not far from the beach.

Mira, 'Iron Fist' Gus, and his followers were all with Viserys. The survivors from their ship were still sticking together for warmth.

Thud—

He swung his axe into the tree trunk, sending wood chips flying.

Stepping foot on this land for the first time, Viserys was very careful.

From the moment he set foot on this land, he had a feeling of palpitations, as if some danger was about to come, so he quietly heightened his vigilance.

The first impression this mysterious continent gave Viserys was oppression. There were fish in the water and trees on the land. Everything looked normal, but it gave people a sense of gloom and oppression.

If he had to summarize it, it would be discord.

"Everyone, be careful."

Viserys spoke succinctly, chopping the tree while quietly reminding everyone.

"Uh-huh, got it."

The few people huddled around him all nodded.

Time passed quickly, and the sky gradually darkened.

The sunset completely disappeared below the horizon, and the world plunged into darkness. Bonfires were lit.

Although lighting a bonfire in such an unknown place is a dangerous thing, it might attract something.

But darkness breeds fear more easily. Humans cannot lose light, just like fish cannot lose water.

And the hastily built camp was already completed.

Although the conditions were a bit rudimentary, one couldn't ask for much in such a dangerous environment.

"Report any movement immediately!"

Veld arranged for some people to keep watch at night. The middle-aged man in full armor spoke sternly.

Excluding those who needed to keep watch tonight, all the remaining people were ready to rest. Viserys and Mira were lucky, they weren't so unlucky to be assigned to keep watch

on the first day.

They could get a good night's rest tonight.

The two of them were assigned to the same tent.

After spending so many days together and experiencing hardships, their relationship had gradually warmed up and they had become good friends.

However, everyone else believed that there must be something going on between Emon and Mira. At first, they thought Emon was a young gigolo, but later they realized that it was Mira who had latched onto a powerful figure.

The performance of the silver-haired young man had caught everyone's eyes, definitely a good hand.

But in fact, only the two of them knew the truth, nothing had happened between them, they were just friends who had shared hardships.

And in such an environment, they were not in the mood for anything else.

The night outside was deep.

Darkness enveloped the continent.

There were no insects chirping, no birds calling, no sound at all, the silence was suffocating.

"I have a bad feeling that tonight might not be so peaceful."

Inside the tent, Viserys took off his heavy leather armor. It was almost impossible to sleep in such stiff boiled leather armor.

But he still wore his outer clothes, not just because he was sharing a tent with a girl.

And now that they had set foot on the continent of Valyria, danger could strike at any moment. He didn't want to run out bare-bottomed.

Viserys placed the Valyrian steel dagger he carried with him under his pillow.

Valyrian steel can kill White Walkers, and it might also be effective against some monsters in the ruins.

And the red-haired girl sitting on the other sleeping bag also took off her leather armor, revealing the white lining underneath, tightly wrapped.

Although there are differences between men and women.

But neither of them showed any awkward expressions, after all, they were both trying to survive.

The girl sat on the sleeping bag with her legs crossed, her bare, clean feet showing, and she didn't seem in a hurry to sleep.

"I have the same feeling."

Mira lifted the flap of the tent and peered out. The pitch-black sky was covered with a thin layer of fog.

"The fog outside seems to have gotten thicker."

The fog on the land was thinner than that on the Smoking Sea, but its color seemed a bit darker, and it was slightly thicker at night than during the day.

The grey fog of the Smoking Sea seemed unable to invade the land, just as the sea monsters seemed to stop attacking the ships as they approached the mainland.

Viserys had seen this in Gillian's diary.

'The sea monsters seem to fear this land and don't want to get close, but they can't escape to other seas outside the Smoking Sea.'

If these sea monsters escaped the Smoking Sea.

The entire world's maritime industry would suffer a huge blow, and we would return to a time of land isolation.